Titans Radio voice Mike Keith says booth's MVP is a spotter who never talks on air

Play-by-play commentator Mike Keith is the heart and soul of Titans Radio. But he said he couldn't do what he does without his spotter.
Erik Bacharach, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Titans Radio game day host Rhett Bryan works as a spotter for Mike Keith and McGinnis during their radio broadcast of the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

Mike Keith plopped his palms on his desk in the Titans Radio booth at Nissan Stadium and leaned forward, bringing him just a few inches closer to the action on the field below. His eyes meticulously followed the trajectory of the offense — the snap, the handoff, the ball carrier — a skill that traces back to his days as a high school football commentator, long before he was “The Voice of the Titans.”

But whose eyes follow the defense?

“Dawkins’ 15th carry of the game, and nooo,” Keith said into his mic during a Titans’ preseason broadcast in August, holding that last syllable before tailing off. “Dawkins goes splat. He ran to the right and ...”

A brief, split-second pause, nothing that would register with anyone listening to the broadcast. In that iota of hesitation, Keith glanced down to see a trusty finger pointing to a name on the Vikings’ roster sheet. Without taking a breath, he continued: “... tackled there by Jonathan Wynn, the former Vanderbilt Commodore.”

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Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan (91) walks off the field with his son Elias after the team's 33-17 loss to the Colts at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) walks along the sidelines in the closing minutes of the team's 33-17 loss to the Colts at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Red Sox star and American League MVP Mookie Betts, an Overton High graduate, takes the field as the Titans 12th man before the game at Nissan Stadium Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com

Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) runs away from Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey (20) for his fourth touchdown of the game in the third quarter at Nissan Stadium Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) celebrates his third touchdown with his teammates in the third quarter at Nissan Stadium Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe (19) celebrates as he walks off the field after the 26-22 win over the Jets at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) scrambles away from Texan defenders for a first down in the second quarter at NRG Stadium Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, in Houston, Texas. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans tight end Jonnu Smith (81) pulls away from a Texans defender to score the team's first touchdown in the first quarter at NRG Stadium Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, in Houston, Texas. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Titans inside linebacker Wesley Woodyard (59) stops Colts tight end Jack Doyle (84) as he dives for a first down in the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, in Indianapolis, Ind. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against Los Angeles Chargers at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. Matt Dunham, AP

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13), top left, is tackled during the first half of an NFL football game against Tennessee Titans at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. Matt Dunham, AP

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nick Williams drops a pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota near the end zone during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018, in Orchard Park, N.Y. Jeffrey T. Barnes / AP

Titans cornerback Dane Cruikshank (29) jumps into the fans after his touchdown in the first quarter against the Texans at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Sept. 9: Dolphins 27, Titans 20 --
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) walks off the field after the team's loss to the Dolphins as he is patted on the back by Dolphins quarter back Luke Falk at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Miami Gardens, Fla. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / Tennessean.com

Titans players sit in the hallway outside their locker room during a weather delay during their game against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Miami Gardens, Fla. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Rhett Bryan, stationed in between Keith and analyst Dave McGinnis, nodded. Bryan then lifted his wide-angle Bushnell binoculars again and peered through for the next play, ready to do it all over again.

This unseen, smoothly flowing concert lasts about three hours. Bryan’s job is vital in its simplicity: uninterrupted, unrelenting concentration while ensuring the two men flanking him know exactly who just did what on the football field, all without saying a word.

When the Titans face the Cowboys on Monday night in Dallas (7:15 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC), he will be one of the unsung heroes of the Titans Radio production, the glue that holds it together, and, by title, the spotter.

A language all their own

Titans Radio broadcasters Mike Keith, Rhett Bryan and Dave McGinnis call the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium for their radio broadcast during the game Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

A 1970s Yellow Pages commercial told consumers they could "let their fingers do the walking."

Bryan, taking a page from that decades-old slogan, will "scissor (his) fingers back and forth" and point to a name on a numerical roster sheet that lies on the desk space squarely between Bryan and Keith to denote a new or a substituted running back.

No spoken communication necessitates some creativity, after all.

“It's all our own kind of sign language, I guess you could say," said Bryan, 47, who is the executive producer for Titans Radio and, on game days, follows the defense, special teams and anything away from the ball that might add to the broadcast.

If Bryan thrusts his fist into his palm, that tells Keith a certain player picked up a good block. If he pulls his hands into his body on a kickoff and points to a number on the roster sheet, that signifies a kick returner.

Titans Radio game day host Rhett Bryan points out a player on the roster for Mike Keith during their radio broadcast of the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

The objective here is "knowing what (Keith) wants" through intuition and "being able to deliver it to him before he needs to say it," Bryan said.

That extends beyond just pointing and an elaborate system of hand signals, though.

Bryan also is information, often doing some on-the-fly research to calculate a noteworthy stat or dig up a fun fact. In Week 3, for example, he quickly gathered that quarterback Marcus Mariota would be entering a game in relief for the first time in his NFL or college career and relayed that information to Keith during a commercial break.

He is a correction, in the rare event Keith slips up.

He is confirmation that Keith has seen what he thinks he has seen.

"He's exhausted when it's over because of how much he's put in," Keith said. "It's like taking the ACT for him."

You can't major in spotting

A good spotter can “really make or break a play-by-play guy’s day,” said Brad Willis, a Titans Radio producer. “An extra set of eyes and ears for the guy who’s the eyes and ears of the broadcast."

Titans Radio game day host Rhett Bryan points out a player on the roster for Mike Keith during their radio broadcast of the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

Bryan, didn’t have a shred of spotting experience the first time he stepped into the role on Aug. 15, 1999 for the Titans’ preseason opener against the Chiefs.

“I don't know that I was apprehensive or had any reservations,” Bryan said. “I certainly didn't know what the heck I was doing.”

But he had all the tools.

He had a great eye. He knew the roster inside out. He had a knack for pinpointing the finer details of a bang-bang play — a good block on the far side of the field or the player who tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage.

Keith knew because he saw it in practice, where Bryan became a fixture shortly after joining the radio network in 1997, serving in several capacities back when it was the Tennessee Oilers Radio Network.

Titans Radio broadcasters Dave McGinnis, Rhett Bryan and Mike Keith congratulate each other as they call the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium for their radio broadcast of the game Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.(Photo: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)

“It's not like you go to the local college and take courses for (spotting),” Keith said with a laugh. “No, you find somebody that you think is going to be invested enough. Because the investment is what it's really all about. That person has to just be into it.”

By the time the 1999 season rolled around, Keith pegged Bryan as a good choice to spot. And so the two began a journey that has spanned decades. Bryan took a hiatus from spotting from 2014-2017, when he served as Titans Radio's game-day host (and producer Brad Willis hopped in the seat between Keith and McGinnis). But he returned for the 2018 season, and in Week 2 served as spotter for Keith for the 400th time on a Titans’ broadcast (including preseason and playoff games).

"And he's never let me down in all the years of doing it," Keith said.

The biggest factor? Chemistry

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Titans Radio broadcasters Dave McGinnis, Rhett Bryan and Mike Keith congratulate each other as they call the Titans game against the Vikings Nissan Stadium for their radio broadcast of the game Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

From left: Voice of the Titans Mike Keith signs autographs for Josh Allen, Jeremy Sellars and Cindy Harness, all of Gallatin, during the Caravan For Kids at the Kroger Marketplace in 2012. Dessislava Yankova, Gallatin News Examiner

The voice of the Tennessee Titans, Mike Keith, left, and Titans wide receiver, Justin McCareins, right, laugh during a television interview at the Tennessee Titans Caravan at the West Tennessee Healthcare Sportsplex in Jackson in 2008. Jackson Sun

Actor David Keith, left, and his cousin Mike Keith (the voice of the Titans) are crowned grand marshals by University of Tennessee music professor George Blitzas during the Fat Orange Tuesday celebration at the Factory in Franklin in 2003. Tennessean File

“No, I don't think I have had an argument with him. I really don't,” he said. “And I've had an argument with everyone else in my life, I think.”

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Why they do what they do

This past summer, Bryan was at a tire store in Nashville, looking to get his tires rotated. While waiting in line, he struck up a conversation with a woman beside him. The two got to talking about what Bryan does for a living.

“She said, ‘You know, I know exactly who you guys are,’” Bryan said.

Then she told Bryan her husband is blind.

"My husband listens to you guys religiously,” the woman told Bryan. “‘He's sight-challenged and cannot see. So we listen to every broadcast."

Bryan smiled. This is why he, Keith and everyone at Titans Radio does what they do with such passion.

“It's the ultimate compliment,” Bryan said. "It's why we do what we do. It's music to my ears.”

Reach Erik Bacharach at ebacharach@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ErikBacharach.